In the wake of a new cholera outbreak in Haiti following Hurricane Matthew, the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced a plan to raise 400 million dollars to treat and eradicate this disease and to provide financial assistance to affected communities and individuals, including victims of the 2010 outbreak that killed over 9,500 people and infected 800,000 others. [NY
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In the month of November, various universal and regional bodies will assess States’ compliance with their human rights obligations through debates, the consideration of State and civil society reports, country visits, and the review of individual complaints. Six United Nations treaty bodies will meet throughout November to engage with States regarding their treaty obligations related to civil and political rights,
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The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) unanimously held on October 20 that Croatia violated a prisoner’s right to be free from inhuman or degrading treatment when it confined him in a cell measuring 2.62 square meters for 27 consecutive days. See ECtHR, Muršić v. Croatia [GC], no. 7334/13, ECHR 2016, Judgment of 20 October 2016,
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Civil Society After recent protests in Argentina over the murder and rape of a teenage girl, two women who participated in the protest were murdered this week, causing civil society to argue that femicides and gender-based violence are on the rise. [Guardian] The police in South Africa this week used water canons, tear gas, and stun grenades against students protesting
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The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) has, at Panama’s request, published an advisory opinion concerning the rights of legal entities, particularly whether the American Convention on Human Rights protects the rights of trade unions, cooperatives, associations, and companies, or whether the American Convention on Human Rights’ definition of “person” is limited to human beings. See I/A Court H.R., Titularidad
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Both Burundi and South Africa announced in the last two weeks that they intend to withdraw from the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC). On October 12, 2016, 94 of 110 parliamentary members in Burundi voted in support of retracting Burundi’s membership as a State party to the ICC’s treaty, the Rome Statute. [ICC Press Release] On October 18,
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In its first decision concerning witness tampering, Trial Chamber VII of the International Criminal Court (ICC) found Jean-Pierre Bemba Gombo and four others guilty of offenses against the administration of justice under Article 70 of the Rome Statute. [ICC Press Release: Guilty] The holding of October 19 found that Bemba and the four other accused had bribed witnesses and presented
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Activities of International Bodies The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights started its 59th Ordinary Session this week and will review draft guidelines on the rights to freedom of association and assembly, as well as conduct reviews of States parties and hold additional discussions. [IJRC: Guidelines; IJRC: Sessions] The United Nations General Assembly recognized the 50th anniversary of the
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The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) has prepared a draft of its forthcoming Guidelines on Freedom of Association as Pertaining to Civil Society and Guidelines on Peaceful Assembly (Draft Guidelines) to be presented at its 59th Ordinary Session, which began this week in Banjul, the Gambia. [ACHPR: Explanatory Note; ACHPR Press Release] The Study Group on Freedom
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On October 11, 2016, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) unanimously held that the government of Russia violated the rights of Garri Kasparov, a political activist and well-known chess player, to liberty and security of person and to freedom of assembly under articles 5 and 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights. See ECtHR, Kasparov v. Russia, no.
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